Marcus Smart (33) dunks the ball during an NCAA college basketball game between Oklahoma State and Memphis at Gallagher- Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla., Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2013. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman

Smart's teammates sensed it, too.

“We kind of came together as a team and said, ‘We've got to get him the ball more,'” said Brian Williams, who contributed 15 points and eight rebounds. “Especially if he's hot like that. He's been doing that all offseason, all summer. We just haven't seen it in the first couple of games. It came out tonight.”

Smart cooled off, by his own scorching early standards. Still, the Cowboys kept building their lead on a Memphis team that never got going.

Markel Brown added 20 points and three blocked shots. Le'Bryan Nash grabbed a game-high 10 boards. Michael Cobbins had eight points and Stevie Clark added nine off the bench, which was short with Phil Forte limited to four minutes due to a stomach bug.

“This was a total team effort,” said Cowboys coach Travis Ford. “Obviously, Marcus stood out early and did some great things in this game and he showed why he's the best player in the country. We had so many great performances.”

And one performance beyond that.

Smart's scoring effort tied the sophomore school record previously set by Matt Clark in 1980. And the 39 points ranks as one of the top-10 scoring performances in program history.

He made 11 of 21 shots from the floor, including 5 of 10 from 3-point range, and went 12 of 16 from the foul line. And he added five steals, four assists, four rebounds and two blocked shots.

And as the night continued on, and Smart continued to do his thing, the superlatives showered in over the airwaves and across Twitter.

Smart took heat for coming back to college and foregoing the NBA last spring, with many suggesting he made a mistake by waiting, with a deep and talented freshman class coming up.

Those criticisms have since faded, after his summer play for the United States in international competition and his play against NBA stars in the Las Vegas camp.

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